01.22 Election And Free-will

XXII. Election and Free-will

There is no question but that the "Doctrine of Election" is taught in the Scriptures, and that it applies not only to "service," but to "salvation." It is equally true that the "Doctrine of the Freedom of the Will" under certain conditions is also taught. We may not be able to reconcile the "Sovereign Will of God," with the "Free-will of Man," but that is no proof that they are not reconcilable. They are the corresponding halves of the Doctrine of Salvation, "Election" is the Godward side, and "Free-will" the manward side. The perversion of the "Doctrine of Election" leads to the "Doctrine of Inability" or Fatalism, which denies the freedom of man’s choice, and therefore his accountability or responsibility for his salvation. It was this Doctrine that the Rev. Charles G. Finney thundered against during all his evangelistic ministry.

Election does not mean that God has chosen some to be saved and others to be lost. The Scriptures clearly teach that all men are lost. "For there is no difference: for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:22-23. Election simply means that God for some purpose best known to Him, and for which He can justify Himself, has chosen certain ones to be saved, but as we shall see He has not limited the number that shall be saved to those, for the door is left open for the "Whosoevers." The Election of God is seen all through the Scriptures. God chose Abel instead of Cain, Shem instead of Ham and Japheth, Abraham rather than Nahor, Jacob the crafty rather than Esau the generoushearted, Ephraim the younger is preferred before Manasseh the elder, and so all down through the Old Testament we see the selecting hand of God, not only in the choice of individuals but of nations. As proof texts we have "For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." Romans 9:15-16. "Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth." Romans 9:18. "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?" Romans 9:21. "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." John 15:16. "As many as were ordained to eternal life, believed," Acts 13:48. "According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world . . . having predestinated us unto the adoption of children . . . according to the good pleasure of His will." Ephesians 1:4-5. "God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit." 2 Thessalonians 2:13. "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world was." 2 Timothy 1:9. From these scriptures we see that God has "elected" some even before the foundation of the world. The passage in Acts 13:48, "As many as were ordained to eternal life, BELIEVED," is most striking. It shows (1) that "Believing" is the consequence, and not the cause of God’s decree. (2) That only a limited number are ordained to eternal life. (3) That this ordination is to salvation and not service. (4) That among those hearers all who were ordained believed, no more, no less. On the other hand we have the "Freedom of the Will" taught. "All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37. "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the Sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." John 1:12. "Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." John 5:40. The last call of the Bible is a general call. "And the Spirit (Holy Spirit) and the bride (the Church) say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Revelation 22:17.

How are we to reconcile these apparently contradictory statements of Scripture? The "key" is the use of the word-

"FOREKNOWLEDGE." "Elect according to the FOREKNOWLEDGE of God." 1 Peter 1:2. "For whom He did FOREKNOW, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the ’Image of His Son,’ that He might be the first born among many brethren." And the Apostle goes on to add-"Moreover whom he did predestinate, them He also CALLED; and whom He called, them He also JUSTIFIED: and whom He justified, them He also GLORIFIED." Romans 8:29-30. One important step seems to be here omitted, that of SANCTIFIED, which belongs between the last two, but it is implied in the phrase "to be conformed to the Image of His Son" of the preceding verse, and is supplied in the first reference from Peter-"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit." In the Epistle to the Ephesians Paul uses three words: "Chosen," "Predestinated," "Foreordination" (before ordained). The word "Chosen" refers to our choice in the "Eternal Past" (Ephesians 1:4), the word "Predestination" to our inheritance in the "Eternal Future" (Ephesians 1:11), and the word "Foreordination" to our "good works" in the "Living Present" (Ephesians 2:10), and links us with the first two, thus showing the co-ordination of "God’s Will" and "Man’s Will" in the actual process of salvation. All prophecy is based on God’s Foreknowledge, but it does not predetermine human conduct or events. God’s Foreknowledge of what men will do does not compel men to do those things. God foreknew that Adam would fall, and that Judas would betray Jesus, but His foreknowledge of what they would do did not compel them to do what they did. They did those things because’ they wanted to do those things, and God held them responsible for their choice. From what has been said it is clear that God’s choice or predestination of individuals is based on His foreknowledge or prescience of what they would do when the Gospel was offered to them. It is therefore no arbitrary or compulsory choice and does not conflict with the "Freedom of the Will." For illustration God foresaw in eternity past, before the creation of this earth, that on the 28th day of October, 1850, the Author of this book would be born, and that on a certain evening in May, 1869, in a Y. M. C. A. prayer meeting, he would accept Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour, and because of that foreknowledge He ordained him unto Eternal Life, and had his name recorded in the "Lamb’s Book of Life." Php 4:3. Revelation 3:5. More, He foresaw that the Author would have certain temperamental and artistic gifts that would fit him to present Scriptural truth in chart form, and to that end He imparted to him, through the Holy Spirit, the needed wisdom to "Rightly Divide the Word," so that he might write and publish such books on the Holy Scriptures, as he has by the Grace of God been permitted to do.

Now the Author confesses that he would not have naturally done this, though he was born with a religious temperament, but that it was the outward or external influence of the Holy Spirit that led him to accept Christ. In that sense he admits that he was called or elected of God. On the other hand he disclaims that he was in any sense forced or coerced to take the stand, against his own will. The step was voluntary on his part and was in harmony with his desire. Therefore he holds that there is a harmonious relation between the "Sovereign Will" of God, and the "Free-will" of man. This leads to some remarks on the "Human Will." The "Will" is the faculty of choice. The will does not originate. It is not the mind. It is simply the instrument that decides the course that is to be taken. The governing part of man is the heart. If a man’s heart is bad, his will is bad and vice versa. In the natural man there is no good thing, the disposition of his heart is to do evil continually, therefore if his will is to act contrary to the natural tendencies of his heart it must come under the governing control of some power outside of himself. This power is that of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the unregenerate man cannot come to God until his will comes under the power of the Holy Spirit. When it does the man of his own free will will turn to God. In unfallen Adam the will was free, free to choose good or evil. Adam was created in a state of innocence. He was neither holy nor unholy. His will was in a condition of "Moral Equipoise." There was no bias toward good or evil. But it is not so with fallen man-he has a bias toward evil, his will is not in a state of "Moral Equipoise." His heart is "deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." Jeremiah 17:9. The "will" of the "Last Adam" (Christ) was not like that of the First Adam, in a state of "Moral Equipoise," but it was the reverse of the will of the natural man, it had no bias toward evil, but only a bias toward "Holiness," therefore there was no possibility that the will of Christ would have permitted Him to sin..

Because the choice of the human will, governed by a bad heart, is toward evil, nothing can prevent the Natural man from going to the bad but the "Grace of God." And by badness is not necessarily meant wickedness, but a hardening of his heart against all good influences and a yielding to the carnal desires of the flesh. The nature that is under the dominion of sin, cannot of itself originate that which is holy. Jesus said-"No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him." John 6:44. And Paul said-"No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." 1 Corinthians 12:3. From this we see the impotency of the natural man. But this does not excuse the natural man from seeking salvation. For the moment he realizes that if he is to be saved it must be by a power outside of himself, it is his duty to inquire where that power may be found. That is why we are commanded to preach the Gospel, for it is the "POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION TO EVERY ONE THAT BELIEVETH." Romans 1:16. But as "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the WORD OF GOD" (Romans 10:17), a man cannot believe unless he knows what to believe. The instrument the Holy Spirit uses to convict a man of his need of salvation, and to produce a "New Nature" in him is the "Word of God." John 3:5.

It is right here that a man may exert his "Free-will" by resisting the tender wooing of the Holy Spirit. Stephen’s charge against his persecutors was-"Ye stiffnecked (stubborn) and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the HOLY GHOST." Acts 7:51. .Therefore it is true that a man in the exercise of his "will," governed by a proud and stubborn heart, may refuse the pleadings of the Holy Spirit to his own destruction. This refusal of some men to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit, shows that they cannot be saved against their will.

If the "forgiveness of sins" is preached through Christ to all men (Acts 13:38), and God now commands all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30), and we are to beseech men to be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-20), surely the work of Christ on the Cross was not limited to the elect only. God does not mock men. When an offer of salvation is made to "whosoever will come" it is a "BONA-FIDE" offer. It is not true that because God has chosen a certain person to salvation that he will be saved whether he believes or not. He must be saved through the God-ordained method of salvation. You cannot be elected unless you are a candidate. As it has been well put-"The elect are the "whosoever wills," and the non-elect are the "whosoever won’ts."

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF ELECTION?

1. A Consciousness of the New Birth.

2. The Fruits of the Holy Spirit in the life.

3. A progressive Sanctification.

4. A consistent walk.

5. A perseverance in the faith.